


The Magician

by viciousmollymaukery



Series: Critical Tarot [5]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Multi, familial tension, gratuitous snuggle scenes, more fjorclay vibes, multiple POVs, the author is bad at tagging, what's sexier than wizards NOTHING
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viciousmollymaukery/pseuds/viciousmollymaukery
Summary: "The Magician represents tapping into one's true potential, not holding back for anything."The Mighty Nein arrive in Eiselcross, hot on the trail of Vess de Rogna, hopefully the final thread of the Cerberus Assembly that needs tying up.
Relationships: Essek Thelyss & The Mighty Nein, Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Series: Critical Tarot [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147757
Comments: 3
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty major EGtW spoilers for this one, and probably from here on out, just as a warning. Eiselcross is fucking dope and I really hope the Nein actually go there someday, but this will fill that void in my heart until then.
> 
> Enjoy!

Caleb was greeted by roaring wind and whirling snow when they Teleported to their destination, and immediately realized that the Biting North was likely to live up to its name. All he could see was a rolling sea of white and grey, and he squinted his eyes mostly shut and lifted a hand to block the flakes from stinging his face, unable to hear anything over the howling storm at first.

But Beauregard was still loud enough that he could just barely make out her cries of “Shit!” and “Fuck!” and other expletives, which drew his gaze back over to his friends. Veth was sunken almost to her chin in the snow, and Fjord was currently trying to pull her out while also not being knocked to the ground by the gale-force winds. Jester was currently tangled in her cape, which was wrapped around her face and flapping wildly around her as Yasha tried to hold her still so she could get it unpinned from her horns.

“ESSEK,” Veth shrieked once Fjord had yanked her, damp and slush-covered, out of the snowdrift and set her upright, “ARE YOU TRYING TO _FUCKING KILL US?”_ She started pulling out her crossbow and aiming it his way, dropping a few bolts which were quickly swept away and lost to the storm.

“Believe me, this is _not_ how I would want to die,” Essek shouted back, trying to face away from the snow that seemed to come from all directions. He’d disguised himself before leaving, but his own cloak was flared out over his left shoulder from the force of the wind, the edges threatening to smack Caduceus in the face. Veth bit back a curse but lowered her weaponry, at least for now.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?!” Beauregard yelled, the colors of her reversible cloak forming a murky blur as they waved back and forth like a flag out behind her. She’d declined to get warmer clothes, citing being a ‘dope monk’, and Caleb was sure she had to be freezing, ‘dope monk’ or not.

Essek shrugged helplessly. “I believe so?! There are a few places in Exandria that are environmentally similar to Eiselcross, but—”

A particularly strong gust ripped through wherever the hell they were, and most of them were knocked to the ground. Fjord ended up flat on his stomach, limbs splayed awkwardly as he lifted his head, shaking flakes of white out of his hair. Jester’s top half was buried in the snow, and her upturned feet kicked wildly as she attempted to right herself with Caduceus’s aid, though he had to concentrate mostly on not letting her boots connect with his face. Yasha had drawn the Skingorger and plunged it into the frozen ground, using it to keep herself stationary while clutching an almost-blown-away Beauregard under one arm.

“This,” Yasha groaned loudly as she hauled herself and the monk upright, “doesn’t really seem to be going all that well!”

“Scheisse,” Caleb muttered, winded, as he got to his feet. “Okay, Mighty Nein, we need to stay together!” He pulled the spool of silver thread from his component pouch that he used for the Alarm spell and wove his way between them, tying everyone together in more or less a line, at least so they were all in sight of one another and no one could get separated. If someone got lost, they stood little to no chance of finding them in this mess.

Caleb’s fingers were already numb even through the gloves he’d bought in anticipation of this journey by the time he was halfway done, and his teeth were clacking together as he shivered violently. This wasn’t good. They hadn’t planned for this at all, and it was quickly becoming dangerous.They needed to find shelter, and fast, or they could very well all freeze to death out here and that would be the end of them. The Mighty Nein, vanquishers of the dreaded Cerberus Assembly, monstrous minions of the Betrayer Gods, and all manners of horrors and forces of evil, defeated by bad weather. What a cosmic joke that would be.

“Beau,” Jester screeched, almost slipping as she stumbled over a slick patch of ice, “how far away is the spy-people cave from here?” Sprinkle’s red fur was now mostly white despite him trying to crawl practically under her armor, and Caleb felt not his first pang of sympathy for the poor, wretched creature.

“I don’t fucking _know,”_ Beauregard shouted, uncharacteristic panic coloring her voice. “This might not even be the right place! I can’t see _shit,_ I—I didn’t know there’d be a fucking _blizzard_ waiting for us when we—”

A sharp _whizzing_ sound cut through the screaming wind, and Caleb saw a dark streak shoot through the air above him before an arrow landed in the ground at Fjord’s feet, vibrating from the impact in the icy rocks. Fjord yelped and jumped back, almost slamming into Yasha and Beauregard and dragging the entire group back to the ground before he managed to right himself.

Caleb cursed himself and this entire trip and began holding a Fireball, his hands flickering with magical flames that warmed them up far too small a fraction. A shape moved in the snowstorm around them, first a vague blob and then a humanoid, slowly approaching. They all huddled together, facing outwards towards the storm and whatever was creeping out of it, bracing themselves for some kind of attack. They’d been in Eiselcross for not even four and a half minutes and it was already trying to kill them, because of fucking course it would. Was this the islands’ attempt at banning them all from them? It was certainly shaping up to be successful.

A lone figure stepped forward, arms raised in what Caleb recognized as an _I-mean-you-no-harm_ gesture, holding a bow in one hand. He continued holding his spell nonetheless, unsure whether this was a trap set by de Rogna or the other people working for the Assembly here. The others did the same, narrowing their eyes and looking at one another in confusion and suspicion.

“Greetings,” the figure called out towards them in a Zemnian accent, the sound almost lost in the echoing wind. They stepped a bit closer, and Caleb could tell that they were a human, but their clothing was too bundled and, he realized, actually fit for Eiselcross for him to make out many details. “I apologize for opening fire, but I needed to draw your attention. My name is Karta Meck. You all must be—”

“Yeah yeah, we’re the Mighty Nein,” Beauregard exclaimed in relief, lowering her staff and stepping forward, untangling herself from the silver wire before extending a hand. “Beauregard Lionett, Expositor of the Cobalt Soul. We’re the ones who are fucking over the Assembly and shit.”

Karta Meck nodded to her and looked over them all, taking the eclectic group in. Caleb dropped his spell and the others all seemed to relent, no longer quite as on guard as before but still healthily wary. “Well, follow me, all of you. It’s dangerous to stay out here for too long.”

“Yeah, no fucking shit,” Veth yelled, lifting her legs high in the air to free them from the piling snow that threatened to swallow her.

Meck led them all through the snow a ways, and though Caleb could barely see more than a few feet in front of his freezing face, the low, solid shape of a rocky outcropping carving through the surrounding landscape eventually came into view. They all picked up the pace a bit, desperate to get out of this mess and into something a bit more pleasant.

The interior of the small cave was not _warm_ , not compared to some of the places they’d traveled, but after even just a few minutes outside it was perhaps the most welcoming place Caleb had ever been. Shivering and shuffling, and half frozen solid, the Mighty Nein made their way over to the fire that roared in the center, collapsing around it in a loose pile. The wind outside still shrieked and the occasional flurry of flakes blew through the cave entrance, but they were shielded from the worst of the elements. Caleb was tempted to roll out the dome, but perhaps it was best to get an idea of their situation before he started burning through more of his spells.

“So,” Meck exhaled as they all sat down, removing what Caleb now saw to be a makeshift mask and pair of fur-lined goggles from their face. They spread their arms and let them fall back to their sides. “Welcome to Eiselcross, all of you. I could say it’s a pleasure, but given the grim circumstances and the overall environment, I’m not sure how accurate that actually is.”

“This place is so f-fucking c-c-cold,” Jester wailed, pulling her green cloak around her and breathing into her hands. “Like, my d-dad is b-b-blue, so c-cold doesn’t really b-bother m-me as much, but _h-holy shit.”_

Meck laughed, sitting on a backwards-facing chair by the fire to survey them all, mug of something steaming in hand. “I could say you get used to it, but I would be lying. You grow to _tolerate_ it is perhaps a better turn of phrase.”

“S-so this is n-n-normal weather?” Caleb managed, arms wrapped tightly around himself and Veth, who had jumped into his lap to warm up.

Meck shrugged. “We do get the occasional storm, but this is the first big one of the season. It started last night and doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.”

Caduceus shook his head, looking troubled. “There’s, uh, s-something unnatural about th-this.” He tapped his staff and it began emanating a soft glow, the Light cantrip warming the interior of the cave a fraction more. “D-definitely not a n-normal st-st-storm.”

“Think d-de Rogna is doing this?” Fjord offered. He was sitting at Cad’s feet and stretching his open palms out so close to the fire Caleb was sure they had to be burning. He knew from experience after all.

“It would c-certainly c-cover her tr-tracks,” Essek added, still shivering like mad.

Karta Meck was nodding grimly. “My spies saw her appear yesterday via the Gate Stone she apparently keeps here. She stayed in the lab set up inside Balenpost for a few hours, then Teleported away, allegedly to the Aeor crash site where I can imagine she’s still hiding.”

“B-before we c-continue,” Caleb interjected, raising a frozen finger, “p-perhaps I should sh-shield us.”

Meck frowned a bit, but the others nodded their agreement and Caleb removed the glass bead from his component pouch, taking the minute to provide them all with the Tiny Hut. It was a welcome relief from the still icy-cold as the temperature around them all rose to genuine warmth, and everyone started to thaw out. Yasha squeezed her soaked, wind-tangled hair out and Jester started scraping the ice from her boots with a stick, sending the occasional chip scattering across the stone floor of the cave.

“Damn,” their new ally whistled, looking around at the dome, “that sure is a neat trick.”

“Thank you,” Caleb sighed, though he was more grateful for the feeling returning to his extremities than for the kind words.

“Yes, Caleb is quite accomplished,” Veth added from next to the fire where she’d jumped down. “He’s easily the _smartest_ one here.”

Meck nodded. “Well, I would assume that the people going up against the Cerberus Assembly would be extremely capable. So,” they continued, “regarding Lady de Rogna, she has already left Balenpost in the company of a handful of researchers, treasure hunters such as myself, and more, ah, _physically accomplished_ individuals, presumably for added protection from whatever lurks within the Aeor ruins. One of them is a spy of mine, but I have yet to hear word, which I will admit is a bit troublesome but not yet cause for concern.”

“And you think she’s causing this rather shitty weather?” Caleb asked, pointing upwards to indicate the dark, angry sky that lurked beyond the cavern’s ceiling.

“I am suspicious, though my knowledge of the arcane is fairly minimal despite being stationed here,” Meck said grimly.

“Wait, wait, hold on a second,” Beauregard said, raising a hand with a sigh and running the other over her face. “Fuck, y’all remember fucking Mythburrow?”

“Oh, _fuck no,”_ Fjord groaned, leaning forward to press his forehead against his knees.

Jester gave a frustrated sigh through her teeth and started practically ripping her hair out. “If we have to deal with another _fucking dragon_ on top of de Rogna, it’s going to go horribly.”

“Well, if it is from a dragon, we can just avoid it, ja?” Caleb offered. “And if it’s from de Rogna, I can imagine that getting rid of her will cause it to dissipate, be it from a spell or some sort of magical item.”

“But how the hell are we supposed to travel through _this?”_ Beauregard gestured outside in frustration and a shower of flakes whipped inside to emphasize her point.

“I can Teleport us all to the crash site,” Essek suggested. “I can use the spell once more today.”

“But okay, if we’re gonna have to like, fight her and shit, we all need to be as super powerful and prepared as possible,” Jester protested.

“And we should assume that she has begun activating the ruined city’s defenses for her own protection,” Caleb muttered. “She may be planning to wait things out up there for the long haul.” From what he’d read of Aeor, it did seem like the kind of place where she could make her final stand.

Meck cleared their throat. “If you all require a night of planning and rest, I can easily arrange safe accommodations for you all within Balenpost. And, it would give an opportunity for the more stealthy among you to gain access to the lab I mentioned, perhaps along with a few of my associates if you require any assistance.”

Beauregard frowned. “Isn’t it, like, literally chock full of people that are still working for the Assembly?”

“Word has already begun to spread here of their downfall, as I can imagine it will begin to do so throughout Wildemount. Understand, the Assembly has few die-hard loyalists. Those working for them largely do so out of fear rather than mutual interests. There are already those that are leaving, and while a few, slightly more dangerous figures might stay, I have a decent enough establishment here that I can get you all in and keep you away from prying eyes.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine why anyone would willingly work with the Assembly for their own gain,” Veth said pointedly. Caleb stared at her, but held his tongue. They didn’t have time for _that_ argument, not yet.

“Is there like, a secret tunnel entrance or something?” Jester asked eagerly. “Do we get to sneak in?”

Meck smiled thinly. “Or something, yes.”

Fjord coughed loudly. “Just, uh, wondering here, are we going to have to walk through _that_ to get there?” He pointed out at the still raging storm.

“Well, yes” Meck said carefully, “but worry not, there are ways of keeping the worst of it at bay, unnatural though it may be.” They finished whatever they were drinking and set the cup aside, clapping their thickly gloved hands together. “So, if you all are ready, I can help smuggle you all in.”

“If it means getting into an actual building, then _hell yes,”_ Beauregard said, getting to her feet.

Caleb dropped the dome and the cold spared no time rushing back in again. He took out the silver thread and started tying everyone together in a clump as Meck pulled a small stone from their pocket and whispered into it. The wind immediately around them seemed to still, forming a calmer circle as they all stepped outwards back onto the frigid landscape, taking a few moments to get their footing but quickly picking up speed.

He had intentionally situated himself near both Veth and Essek, and turned to the other wizard as they departed. “I’d like to have the Amulet back for a while, now.” Caleb said just loud enough for her to hear once they had gotten going. Veth’s ears, still faintly goblinoid even after being restored to her body, pricked backwards, but she said nothing.

Essek nodded, though the motion was a bit awkward due to how much he was still shivering. “Of course,” he said, fumbling a bit as he pulled it out of his pocket. “Here,” he said, dropping it into Caleb’s gloved hand.

“Thank you, _Li_ _ebling_ ,” Caleb said as he slipped it back around his neck.

“You’re welcome,” Essek said, pulling his cloak a little tighter around himself. Caleb noticed he’d started floating, and realized with a jolt that he probably hated this place a lot more than he was letting on.

Feeling abruptly guilty, he took Essek’s hand (how was he already so _cold_ , even through the gloves?) and pulled him closer, turning his gaze forward. Caleb could tell that Veth’s jaw was set in a hard line even from behind her, but she still didn’t speak up. He understood her worry, of course, but it was more insulting than endearing at this point that she didn’t trust that he knew what he was doing.

Karta Meck led them all through the wintry hellscape, and Caleb eventually saw a low wall surrounding a collection of tents and small buildings, which he gathered to be Balenpost. He knew the waters of the Frigid Depths lay a bit beyond that, but with the storm he stood little chance of being able to see the shoreline, and that was assuming the ocean wasn’t frozen over this far north. With some quick aid from Jester’s Pass Without Trace spell, Meck brought all of them in a wide circle around the outpost away from the main entrance to where the back of one ramshackle building met directly with the outer wall. Meck knocked on it in a specific sequence and a portion of it opened up into a door, the small gnomish figure on the other side quickly ushering them in.

The door led through a damp, narrow tunnel, and there was plenty of shuffling and cursing and stepping on one another’s feet from the Mighty Nein as they clamored through. Meck, exasperated, opened the door at the other end and led them into a storeroom of sorts. Caleb’s eyes weren’t accustomed to the darkness, but he could see a few rotting, discarded crates and a short staircase leading up into whatever the rest of this building was. Aside from the gnome that had greeted them, two other figures stood in the room, one human and one halfling. All looked a bit worse for wear, hardened by their time this far north of the world. It looked like the halfling was missing one finger and part of another, probably from frostbite.

“Right,” Meck said as they all entered and the door squealed shut behind them. “This is just about everyone, then.”

Beauregard blinked a bit. “This—this is everyone?”

“Yes,” they affirmed. “Well, one more went up to the crash site with de Rogna, but other than that, this is it.”

“Cool,” Beauregard said, pulling a hand through her hair and removing her notebook from her belt with the other. “Cool, cool, cool, good to know. Um, well then, let’s just jump right into it: what all have you guys got so far regarding de Rogna?”

She consorted with the spies for a while, eager as always to trade notes. The group learned that de Rogna was almost indeed at the crash site, and more about Aeor itself. Caleb was familiar with it of course, as he was with a lot of things that fascinated him from the Age of Arcanum. The ruins themselves were a strange, dangerous place, plagued by beasts and a strange disease that more than one ‘citizen’ of Balenpost had fallen victim to. But what had really caught his eye during his readings were the details surrounding the stasis bubbles that occasionally dotted what was left of the city, containing snapshots of the final moments of Aeor’s people as the city was hurdled from the sky. None had been burst yet, but Caleb was already trying to put together possible solutions even as the discussion moved on.

“And the big boss man, this ‘Akron’ fucker, he’s still around?” Beauregard was asking as she scribbled.

“Correct,” the gnome nodded. “He’s a sadistic shithead, not gonna lie to ya, and he’s a-scramblin’. A bunch of people left last night and the number of boats left are dwindlin’. A lot of us are afraid to get left behind up here. We’re maybe a day away from full blown anarchy!”

“I think that might be a slight exaggeration,” Meck interrupted, “but things are coming a bit unraveled up here. I can’t see King Dwendal caring that much about our survival, truth be told. I wouldn’t if I were him. Granted, I can get in touch with the Augen Trust to ensure _our_ safety—” they gestured at the team of spies around them— “but everyone else? If something happens to Akron and Horswell, or if they decide to bail, this place will fall apart.”

“Well, we can make sure that nothing like that happens,” Caduceus said, offering a signature serene smile. “Once we get back to the Empire, we’ll do what we can to make sure the people up here are taken care of.”

Meck nodded at him. “Thank you, we appreciate that.”

“Of course, it’s no trouble,” Caduceus rumbled. “Least we can do is fix some lives in the midst of this.”

Meck sighed heavily. “Well,” they said, “you all are welcome to stay here for the day. There’s rooms further inside, empty ones now that people have started escaping. This building is under my control, so as long as you’re in here, you’re perfectly safe.”

Jester rapped her knuckles sharply on one of the wooden crates at that, and Caleb saw her lips moving in silent prayer to the Traveler. He was tempted to whisper his own, as that sentence just sounded like a temptation of fate, but Meck was already opening the door that led to the rest of the interior. The Mighty Nein followed them, and the top of the tiny stairway opened up into a small common area with an attached kitchen and a large fireplace, with a hallway leading further inside. Caleb gathered that this building was a barracks of sorts for some of the people living—well, _surviving_ at Balenpost.

He instantly lit the fireplace as they all collapsed around it in a heap for the second time that day, removing now soaked cloaks and pieces of armor. It was only ten thirteen in the morning, but they were all already exhausted from the trek across the ice.

“You guys,” Jester said from where she was draped over Beauregard’s lap, her face pressed into the fur-lined carpet, “can we just not do anything for like, an hour or so?”

“I think that’s fair,” Caduceus said from where he was already packing his tea set. “That was kind of a lot.”

“So, what are we doing now?” Veth asked, trying to dry off her crossbow.

“ _I_ wanna check out that fucking lab,” Beauregard said instantly, raising one hand in the air. “See if I can figure out what this Horswell lady has been doing in there. You in?”

“Yeah, for sure.” She paused. “Hey Essek,” she added, rounding on where he was wedged into one of the couches next to Yasha, “you wanna come with us?”

“Well… actually, if it’s all the same to you, I’d really prefer to stay inside until this—” he gestured out the window where the storm was still raging with a slight wince that Caleb didn’t miss— “is no longer an issue.”

“You sure? You don’t wanna come and, I dunno, get your hands on their secret research—”

“I’ll go,” Caleb interrupted. “I can make us Invisible, or perhaps Polymorph us all to get in.”

Beauregard shrugged. “All right, that works too,” she said, likely sensing the tension and wanting to defuse it before it got out of hand. “We leave in an hour.”

“Excellent,” Caleb said, letting his gaze dart over to Veth. There was definitely a discussion to be had later, it seemed, despite their situation. “Well then,” he sighed, “An hour it is.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally stared at my document and said, out loud, "How the fuck do I write Caduceus?" so I hope this is at least semi-decent.

This place was really cold. Even the Blooming Grove didn’t get this cold in the winter, and Caduceus liked to think the Wildmother kept things just a little mellower down there as a small thanks for his family’s faith in her and all they did. And cold didn’t bode well for growing certain types of tea either, so he was grateful to her for doing that, whether she was really responsible for it or not in the end.

The tea he was finishing up now came from the Markham family, except for that one aunt who had run off with most of the family jewels, allegedly. Her body was long gone, and Caduceus figured she would only sour the flavor either way. He began pouring some into cups, leaving the pot out to stay warm for when Beau, Caleb, and Veth got back from their little trip. He wasn’t too sure how good of an idea that was, given how chaotic things apparently were for the folks living here, but he trusted them to make it work. They were really good at that.

He also hadn’t missed how tense that group was, and hopefully the tea would loosen them up a little when they were back. Most familial tension stemmed from people in the family caring about one another, but in a way that the others just didn’t understand or couldn’t really see. If they just talked to each other a little bit, they could figure it out. They always seemed to.

“Caduceus, thank you _so much_ , you are literally a lifesaver,” Jester declared as she took the tea with her free hand. The other was holding some cards from the game they’d found discarded on one of the shelves. Caduceus had persuaded the spiders in the box to find somewhere else to stay for a while, and that had been that and they’d started playing.

“Always a pleasure,” he smiled, sitting down with his own cup.

“This is excellent as always, thank you,” Essek said, carefully sipping.

“You’re welcome,” Caduceus said, studying him carefully. Essek didn’t look too good, especially now that his disguise had dropped. His hands were shaking a little and his jaw was clenched pretty tight. Caduceus knew he wouldn’t dare say anything, of course, which was why he’d slipped the same numbing agent into the tea before giving it to him to avoid any spectacle, and a sleeping aid as well. He’d probably figure it out, but that was okay. He didn’t seem to want any attention either, which was just fine.

Caduceus joined the card game, sitting down next to Fjord. He didn’t understand the rules at all, but the rules sheet had had most of the words rubbed off it long ago anyway, so they were making it up as they went. Jester was incorporating charades as part of it as well, and he figured it was only a matter of time until the cards themselves were abandoned again until another ragtag group came along to play with them.

Fjord had been about to ‘raise’, whatever that meant, when the three adventurers made their way, shivering, back inside. Caduceus started preparing their cups as they all sat down. He was, frankly, a little troubled that they’d gone outside for so long. This storm… it was still bothering him. A lot of things up here were. This place was just really weird all around.

“We’re back!” Veth shrieked as she peeled off her snow-soaked coat. “We didn’t find shit!”

“What do you mean?” Fjord asked.

“The lab’s mostly cleaned out,” Beau sighed, throwing her cloak in the corner with a bit more force than was strictly necessary, but she was mad and it wasn’t like she was hurting anyone. “I got a couple random notebook pages and a weird bottle, but that’s it.” Beau pulled a few damp pieces of paper and a gold vial of some kind out of her bag.

“Ooooooh, gimme gimme gimme!” Jester reached for the bottle eagerly and set about prying the cork off.

“Whatever it is, it had a fairly strong magical energy surrounding it,” Caleb offered.

“I might be able to figure out what it is,” Veth said almost at the same time. So, they still needed to talk then.

“Uh huh, sounds good,” Jester mumbled as she ripped the cork off with her teeth. She peered inside, closing one eye shut and pouring a little into her hand.

“JESSIE, THAT MIGHT BE ACID,” Veth shouted as Beauregard protested at the same time, but Jester was a creature of impulse at her core and it was too late.

The liquid was a milky white, swirling with threads of glittering grey and emitting a faint glow. Jester dipped her finger in it and raised it to her lips, running it across her gums.

“JESSIE, THAT MIGHT BE POISON,” Veth yelled, scampering forward now to snatch the bottle back from her hand.

“Shut up, shut up, I’m fucking fine, okay?” Jester retorted. She popped her lips a few times. “It doesn’t taste like anything. I have no clue what it is.”

“Here, can I take a look at it?” Caduceus asked, reaching for the bottle from Veth. He drank a little bit of it, and sure, enough, it didn’t taste like anything. Actually, that wasn’t quite true. It tasted a little bit like chalk, maybe, something kinda old and dusty. Maybe there was dust in it. Either way, he didn’t know what it was, but if it was in a secret lab it had to be important somehow. They just had to figure out why.

“Hm,” Caduceus sighed. “You know, I have no clue what this is.”

“Great,” Veth said, “so we’ve got nothing so far.” She stretched, shaking the last of the snow out of her hair. “Well, I can maybe try to figure it out, but if it’s something important we might not have a lot left when I get done.”

“I’m sure we can either replicate it, or find some more somewhere,” Beau said. “We gotta figure out what it is or I’m gonna go crazy.”

“Alright alright, if there’s like a spare room or something I can set up my stuff. First, Jester, can you send a message to my husband?”

“Yeah, sure,” she said, sitting straight up and crossing her legs. Fjord put his tea down and raised his hands to keep track of her words. Having watched him do it for so long, Caduceus was pretty sure the magic number was either twenty-five or thirty.

“Okay, can you ask him if he knows anything about Eiselcross, and weird potions here? And gold bottles? Oh, and can you tell him I love him and stuff if there’s enough words?”

“Got it.” Jester cleared her throat. “Hi Yeza, it’s me, Jester. How are you? Do you know about Eiselcross? And weird potions there? Or gold bottles? Also Veth says she loves—”

“That’s it, you’re all out,” Fjord interrupted.

Jester waited for a minute, scrunching up her face and nodding as Yeza responded. “Oh, oh, hold on, I’m Sending another.” She cleared her throat again. “Yeah, we’re in Eiselcross, by the way. Should have led with that. It’s _really_ cold. We’re safe, but we found a weird potion.” She froze for a moment, turning to Fjord, who was holding up two fingers in the air. “… you good?”

Jester sat still again, tilting her head when she got a reply. “Okay, so he’s doing fine, he and Luc are still looking for a house and at schools. He says he loves you _so_ much Veth and hopes you’re safe, but he didn’t know anything about potions or weird bottles or anything like that.”

“Okay, well, that makes sense,” Veth sighed. “He’s very smart, if he doesn’t know we’ll probably never figure it out.”

“I might have an idea, come to think of it,” Caleb muttered. “May I see the vial again, please?”

Veth handed it over to him, not meeting his eye, and Caleb took a few moments to examine it. Caduceus was sure he was doing something smart, but he had no idea what information he was getting out of it. That wasn’t really his area of expertise.

Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “Hm,” he exhaled. “I think I remember reading something about this. Have any of you heard of Frigid Woe?”

Beau’s eyes got super huge like they did when she was having a revelation. “Yeah, I read about that last night. That fucking disease? Wait, this is related to _that?”_

Jester screamed, fanning her arms in towards herself. “AAAAAAH, AM I GOING TO DIE?”

“No, no, not at all,” Caleb said quickly, trying to calm her down a bit, which Caduceus knew by now as a fruitless endeavor most of the time. “The sickness is found in the Aeor ruins. I believe this is the antidote to it. Most descriptions of the antidote vials that I have read about match much of what I am seeing here. We should definitely hold onto this, just in case.”

“Was that the only one you found in there?” Fjord inquired. “If more than one of us gets infected when we get down there, we could be done for.”

Ah, that was smart. Diseases could be weird, a lifetime of treating them in some form or another had taught Caduceus that much. Granted, he had magic, but given how strange this place already was, his spells doing the trick wasn’t a guarantee like it usually was.

“No, this was the only one,” Beau said grimly.

“If I spend a few hours with it, I can probably replicate it,” Veth offered with a shrug. “I just need to finally set up my fucking stuff, like I said.”

“Meck said there’s rooms upstairs and down the hall,” Beau said.

“Great, I’ll get started.”

“I’d like to help you out, if that’s okay,” Caleb said.

Veth blinked. “Yeah, okay, sure,” she muttered, and the two of them headed upstairs. Caduceus would just have to send up their tea later, then. At least they were gonna have to talk to each other now, and that was good. It was always better to be on good terms with your family than bad ones.

Caduceus sat back down on the carpeted floor with a sigh, pulling out some spell materials. “Do y’all mind if I do some quick prayer?” He asked.

Beau and Jester both shook their heads, perfectly in sync. Essek had fallen asleep pretty quickly after the tea, and Yasha had started trying to see how many flower petals she could put in his hair before he woke up, so neither of them objected.

“You mind if I join you?’ Fjord asked. “There’s a distinct, uh, _lack_ of Wildmother up here.”

“Course not, take a seat,” Caduceus said as he lit the incense. He was really worried about this storm and what could be causing it, but hopefully she could have some answers for him.

The room they were sitting in was pretty drafty, but some of the wind blowing through became surprisingly warm as he reached the end of the Commune spell and the familiar, comforting presence of the Wildmother encircled him. Caduceus sighed deeply, grateful for her presence even this far away from what they were used to, and that she was able to break through whatever weirdness seemed to be affecting this area.

“This storm,” he began, “is it being caused by the presence of a dragon?”

The warm wind around him turned colder, sweeping through his hair and sending it drifting about his face. A no, then. Still, that was good. They had more information now than they had before.

“Alright,” he rumbled. “Is Vess de Rogna causing it?”

The wind returned to its earlier temperature, warming up but slowing down a little. A yes, though a hesitant one. Good. That was a start towards an answer.

“Okay,” he sighed. What to ask, what to ask? “Is she… having someone or something else do this for her?”

The wind became much warmer and insistent, like it was proud of him. A definite yes. That was great, they had some answers now.

With that, the spell faded and the presence vanished, though Caduceus knew that just because he couldn’t sense her didn’t mean she wasn’t there. In fact, that was usually the case, perceptive though he was.

“Damn,” Fjord sighed as the wind dissipated. “So she’s making something do this? Or something like that?”

“It seems that way,” Caduceus said. He was a little worried about that. This seemed like a really powerful person that they were messing with, and if she could make something like this happen, there was no telling what else she might do. “But she seems to think we’ve got this,” he said, indicating the incense.

“That’s good to know.” Fjord rubbed the back of his neck. “I… admit I, well, kind of freaked out a little bit back in Rexxentrum when the magic disappeared. It’s good to know for certain she’s still out there. It… gets a bit hard to just believe it, sometimes.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Jester interjected from where she was braiding Beau’s hair. “Because like, I can see the Traveler whenever I want to so I don’t really have to worry about that I guess. But if I couldn’t it would probably be a lot harder.”

“Faith is tricky,” Caduceus said. “It’s okay to trip, and she knows that. It’s a journey, after all, and even the best of us stumble.”

Fjord nodded as they both spoke. “That’s reassuring,” he said, then returned to his tea and the game with the others.

Curious about the other dynamics that were at play here, Caduceus quietly slipped away down the hall to where Caleb and Veth had disappeared, taking a moment to just listen outside the door.

“…right into the snow and I just snapped a bit, I think,” Veth’s familiar cadence was muttering. “I mean, I know you care about him, and it’s not like I want him to be dead or get hurt or whatever. But he still did a very bad thing, you know that, right?”

“Of course.” That was Caleb whispering. “But that doesn’t mean that he’s a bad person, or has to be forever. You people changed me, I don’t see why the same can’t be true for him.”

“I know that, and I guess I agree, sort of. And I’m glad he’s here, trying to fix things or whatever.” Veth sighed. “It’s like… okay, when my son does something wrong, like breaking something or hitting another kid, I still care about him, but I do still have to put him in time out and make sure he understands why what he did was wrong, or he’s never going to learn. It’s complicated, this whole thing is kind of a mess. I did mean what I said on the Ball Eater though, and we’re all a little messy.”

“Well, if you…”

Caduceus made his way back to the other room they were set up in. They were talking, that was all he needed to know. They’d be better off fixing this on their own, away from prying eyes and ears.

“When will you people stop drugging my drinks?” Essek was muttering as he woke up, Jester shaking him enthusiastically and sending petals scattering over the floor. He frowned and picked one up as it fell from his hair onto his face. “Are these flower petals?”

Yasha lifted the teacup to her mouth and said nothing, but Jester was immediately launching into a signature Jester speech.

“Yeah, just—don’t worry about it, okay? I’m super super sorry for waking you up but we need to talk a bit more because there’s new de Rogna info and Beau found something weird and we need to know where we’re going next because where the hell even _is_ the Aeor place or whatever?” She ranted as she helped him sit up.

“Alright, one thing at a time,” Caduceus said as he sat down. It was time for more tea, and he started on preparing another pot. Caleb wasn’t here to confirm, but it was probably about time for some lunch too, and he decided to start making something warm for them all.

“Yes. Yes, alright, the first one: Vess is like, _definitely_ causing this storm somehow, but we don’t know how yet, but the reason why is probably to keep people from being able to come after her.”

Essek nodded. His eyes were a little glazed, Caduceus realized, and he probably wasn’t taking all of this in as well as he would under different circumstances. “That would make sense,” he said.

“Cool cool cool, second thing: Beau found like, a weird potion thing—okay, first, have you heard of Frigid Woe?”

He nodded again after taking a few seconds to process. “I have heard stories of it from the soldiers returning from the Vurmas outpost, but even they had precious little information on it. Virtually no one in the Dynasty is interested in exploring the ruins of Aeor, which is where it originates.”

“Yes, yes, right, well the potion she found, because she’s super smart and super good at finding things, we think it’s like, the antidote to whatever that is. Veth is trying to replicate it now, but—”

“Correction: Veth is _finished_ figuring out how to replicate it and another bottle is brewing.” The halfling in question marched back in the room with her head held high, Caleb in tow behind her. They both seemed less tense. That was good. They really couldn’t afford to be fighting right now.

Jester immediately started clapping. “GOOD JOB VETH, I’m so proud of you!”

“Yes, it was no small feat,” Caleb added from behind her. So they’d worked things out in the end after all.

“Thank you, thank you all very much.” Veth bowed deeply, almost slamming her head into one of the side tables. “So if we run into this weird disease, we should be in the clear!”

“Okay, so then I guess two of those things are kinda dealt with, so we just need to figure out where the fucking floaty city is then,” Jester concluded.

Caleb cleared his throat. “And, ah, thinking a bit ahead, I think the situation with the Scourgers as well as the other Assembly members warrants some discussion.”

“Yes, I think so as well,” Fjord agreed. “Honestly, I couldn’t give two fucks what happens to the other Assembly people, but that’s just me. If they’re innocent, they’ll go free. If not, they’ll get what’s coming to them.”

“I actually think you’re right, for once,” Veth said.

“Wow,” Fjord said, eyes widening. “Did the fumes from that potion replication go to your head or something?”

“Shut up,” she snapped, “don’t fucking push it. Fuck you!”

“There is, however, a chance that more of them will be implicated, and that we may be expected to hunt them down if that happens,” Caleb said before their bickering could devolve into utter chaos. “I think that is something we should discuss, in terms of whether we would accept such a proposal.”

“I mean, I guess we can, as long as it’s not like, super duper dangerous or whatever,” Jester said.

“I agree. I mean, I want to see these guys held accountable, but I’m not exactly gonna stick my neck out for King Dwendal like that, no offense,” Beau added. “The Cobalt Soul actually might be our best bet for help it it comes to that though. Ya know, rooting out corruption and shit?”

“That seems like it’s still kind of a long way off,” Fjord said. “Maybe we can come back to that once we deal with the person we’re actually supposed to be hunting down.”

“You’re right,” Caleb sighed, “it is a bit premature.”

“But as for the second point you brought up, I think we do need to discuss that,” Beau said. She sounded kinda grim, which made sense given how dark all of this was. “I mentioned being bait,” she continued, turning to Essek. “You cool with that? I mean, full disclosure, you could die again.”

Essek shrugged. “If they’re coming, I would rather we get the jump on them than the other way around. And I… trust you all to handle the situation, however it arises.”

“So if we set a trap for them whenever we get back to Rosohna, does that sound like an acceptable plan? We can hopefully do it without attracting too much attention. Is there like, a place where…”

They kept planning for a little while, and Caduceus was content to return to his own task at hand, bringing over the tea when it was ready and the stew when he finally finished it. This place was already pretty dark and cold, but it started getting darker and he figured the sun was probably going down. It felt a little early for that, but he wasn't sure of the exact time and didn't want to trouble Caleb by asking.

He’d noticed Veth slinking away a little while ago, and she came back with two large bottles in hand. “Alright,” she screeched, “they don’t have any wine in this place, but I found whatever the fuck this stuff is, so let’s drink!”

Jester frowned. “Nott, are you s—”

“Look, we did a lot yesterday, and over the past few weeks, and even this morning. We’ve earned some celebration!”

“Oh yeah, I’m definitely with her,” Beau declared, grabbing one of the bottles from Veth and pouring the dark liquid into her teacup.

The bottles were passed around and everyone but him and Jester poured themselves some. Beau looked around the room when they were all ready.

“Alright, on the count of three. One, two, three!” She slammed the drink back and the others followed suit.

There was a brief pause after everyone swallowed and looked around at each other. Fjord was the first to cough, breaking the spell, and the others either did the same or groaned dramatically.

“This is _disgusting_ ,” Veth lamented, regarding her cup with disdain.

“Yeah I know,” Beau said with a grimace, but she was already pouring herself some more. “But we gotta drink it now, right?”

“We absolutely do _not_ ,” Fjord told her.

“Well, speak for your fucking self, okay?”

“Alright,” Caduceus interrupted, “more food’s ready, make some room if you don’t mind.” He brought over a large tray and set it out for everyone. Hopefully the bread he’d bought would keep them all somewhat close to sober, at least so they could all get going in the morning.

But the group seemed to have other ideas, and most everyone was in a stupor as they drifted off to their respective quarters for the night, Caduceus excluded. He lingered in the front room for a while, still troubled by what he’d learned earlier.

“Keep us safe tomorrow?” It was a quiet question, a prayer more than anything. The air around him warmed a fraction, and he sighed, content with the answer.

“Thank you,” he whispered to her invisible presence before going to bed. They all had a long day ahead of them.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some softness, followed by more sneaking around.

_Move_. Essek stared at his crumpled, stubbornly immobile hands a few inches away from his face. He let out a sharp breath of frustration, watching it cloud in front of him for a moment before dissipating. _**Move**_ , he thought again, and his painfully tingling fingers twitched awkwardly in response as if they were mocking him. The half-frozen joints creaked and popped at even the slight motion, sending another stab of pain radiating upwards into his shoulders.

He hadn’t slept or tranced at all, and his tea-induced nap earlier had been fitful at best. The room they’d been given was apparently ‘warm’ by northern standards, and Caleb asleep beside him even warmer, but Eiselcross was positively frigid and the cold had always had a way of sinking into Essek’s bones and making its home there, as the comparatively mild winters in Rosohna had proved over the years. He sighed slowly, gritting his teeth, which only worsened the pounding behind his eyes. This was miserable. He felt like he could allow himself to admit that much, at least right now while he was wallowing.

There was a shifting sound behind him and Caleb carefully slid one arm around his waist and the other under his chest, pulling them flush against each other. He lightly kissed the side of Essek’s neck, just below his ear.“Did you wake up too,” he murmured, voice still heavy with sleep, “or have you not slept?”

“The second,” was about all Essek could say, his jaw still clenched tightly.

Caleb rested his chin on top of Essek’s head and exhaled, ruffling his hair. “Just try to breathe, remember? Three in, three out.” Caleb adjusted himself and reached for Essek’s hands, pausing at his wrists. “May I?”

“Mm hmm,” Essek nodded, the slight motion making him see stars for a moment.

He closed the gap and Essek watched him slowly rub circles into his palms with his thumbs, but the persistent pins and needles overshadowed most of the actual sensation. He tried to focus on his breathing, three seconds in, three seconds out, listening to Caleb softly count off the numbers in Zemnian. It was still so strange, to allow himself to be cared for, that anyone had ended up bothering at all, that he’d let anyone get close enough to in the first place.

“How are you still _freezing?”_ Caleb muttered, his voice laced with worry as he scooted somehow closer.

“We are in the ‘Biting North.’ Though I will admit, my circulation isn’t the greatest. Another, ah, _ill effect._ ” Essek was unable to keep the tinge of bitterness from his tone, emboldened a bit by the alcohol that was still in his system but did nothing to ease his suffering.

“Well, that won’t do,” Caleb continued, troubled. “Here, give me a moment.”

He sat up and sent a Firebolt at the fireplace, reigniting it and sending a fresh wave of heat and flickering light over the cold and dark room. Then he stood and grabbed his component pouch from the rickety nightstand, pulling the now familiar glass bead from it to begin casting the Tiny Hut spell.

Essek frowned. “You don’t have to waste your spells just because—”

“Please,” Caleb interrupted, “will you allow me to fret over you, just a bit?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you actually asking?”

Caleb laughed softly at that and sat back on the edge of the makeshift cot Meck’s people had provided them, leaning over to cup Essek’s face and kiss him for a few seconds. Both of their lips were fairly chapped from the cold, and Essek was fairly sure his tongue still tasted like the bitter whiskey they’d all had in lieu of wine or something a bit smoother when they’d had dinner, but neither of them really minded. “No,” Caleb whispered when he pulled away, “I’m not.”

“Very well,” Essek sighed, closing his eyes and settling back into the covers with a wince, “if you insist.”

The temperature rose from below freezing to something actually habitable as Caleb finished the spell and the dome blinked up around them, pushing and contorting against the walls of the room. He laid back down next to Essek, frowning as the canvas cot buckled awkwardly beneath him.

“Hm,” he breathed, “this won’t do either. One more moment.” Caleb stood and staggered back over to where their bags were tossed haphazardly beneath the narrow, drafty window and pulled both of the bedrolls out, laying them out by the fire over the thick carpeting. Essek, realizing his plan, carefully tried to push himself into a sitting position, arms giving out before he got very far.

“ _Ow,”_ he hissed quietly as he fell back down, exhaling with frustration once more.

Caleb entered his field of view then and knelt by the edge of the ‘bed’. “Come here,” he said, leaning forward to wrap one arm around Essek’s shoulders and the other under his knees.

“Are you still drunk?” Essek laughed as he looped his arms carefully around Caleb’s neck, wrists and elbows popping painfully nonetheless as he laced his hands together. Caleb stood and carried him over to the fire, swaying slightly.

“Now that you mention it, ah… probably, but just a little bit.” Caleb kissed him again as he set them both down in the much more comfortable mess of blankets, then situated himself so he could face Essek and gently took his hands again.

For the first pleasant moment since arriving in Eiselcross, things were silent. Essek slid a bit closer to Caleb, his back to the fire that was composed of actual flames, and felt himself slowly start to relax a bit more. He heard the pattering of paws from behind him and felt Frumpkin settle against the base of his spine, loud purring easing the persistent ache there.

Abruptly exhausted, Essek sank his head deeper into the pillow and sighed heavily, lifting one useless arm around Caleb’s waist. “What time is it?” He murmured. He’d ended up losing track somewhere in his own haze.

“It’s three thirty-four,” Caleb answered, and pulled the blankets tighter around them both. He carefully ran his fingers through Essek’s hair, tucking a few strands behind his ear before moving to massage the base of his skull. “I’m going to stay right here, so you should go to sleep if you can, _schatz._ With de Rogna waiting for us, we all need to be at full strength.”

“I know,” Essek exhaled. The last thing he wanted was the Nein all having to accommodate him, or for him to put them all in danger again, after everything he’d already put them through. “I’d hate to be the one who makes this all fall apart in the end.”

“That is not entirely what I meant.” Caleb tilted his head down to kiss Essek’s cheek. “She’s very powerful and could definitely crush us if we’re not careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Hm.” Essek closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against Caleb’s chest. “I think I could take her,” he mumbled against the cloth of Caleb’s shirt.

He heard Caleb laugh fondly, and the hand at his neck trailed down to settle between his shoulder blades. “I’m not the only drunk one, it seems.”

Essek smiled. Caleb was right, of course, but he wasn’t about to admit that yet. “Are you _doubting_ me, Widogast?” He teased. “Don’t be fooled by the pathetic display you see before you, I’m still very powerful.”

“Oh no, I know _far_ better than to fall for such tricks,” Caleb mocked, mimicking his tone, “but let’s see how you fare against her fully rested, ja? No need to give her a _fair_ fight by exhausting yourself and sinking down to her level.”

“If you say so,” Essek sighed. He started to say one last thing about the art of wizard duels when he fell into his trance, and couldn’t bring himself to snap out of it. He instead sank further into sleep for the few hours his body demanded, and awoke to one fire having burned itself out but the other still wrapped tightly around him. There was still a dull soreness that permeated his limbs, but nothing beyond what he usually dealt with, and the headache could largely be attributed to being hungover. Even so, he laid still for a few minutes, dreading having to move and discovering which part of his body would betray him today.

Eventually, Caleb stirred, and one of the hands pressed to his back lifted to brush the hair from his face. “Is it a bit better this morning?”

Essek nodded. “Not much worse than normal,” he murmured, tilting his head up to kiss Caleb’s jaw. “I can actually think clearly now, so that’s a good sign.”

“Yes, it is.” Caleb pulled back and leaned down just enough to kiss his forehead. “Well, whenever it happens again, wake me up if you can remember to, okay?”

“You don’t have to offer that,” Essek said with a flash of guilt.

“And I am anyway, because I love you. Promise me? Please?” Caleb’s fingers lightly traced up and down his spine, the effect almost lulling him to sleep again.

“I promise,” he muttered, the sound almost lost in the shuffling of pillows as he adjusted his head.

“Hm?” Caleb prompted, raising his eyebrows.

“I promise,” Essek sighed, louder this time. There was very little he was capable of denying Caleb. “And I love you too,” he added, because of course he did. He didn’t deserve to, but how could he not?

“Thank you,” the wizard in question said softly. “Unfortunately, if we do not get moving soon, we may never.” Caleb kissed him again and slowly sat them both up.

Essek’s heart dropped, but he carefully rose all the same, rolling his shoulders in a vain attempt to unpinch the nerves that were still stinging. Rising to his feet was a tedious task, as was getting out the door, but he was immediately swarmed when they both entered the common area that was about the size of one of his closets back at his tower.

“Here,” Caduceus said, placing a teacup in his hands and practically force-feeding him its contents, the porcelain knocking against his teeth, “sit down, drink this for a while before we go.”

“Thank you,” Essek managed to say around the cup, for once letting himself be guided into one of the chairs by the fire. The tea was steaming, the flavor reminiscent of citrus and some other earthy herb he couldn’t place.

“Most of the others are still getting ready,” Caduceus continued, “but once they’ve gotten themselves situated, I think we’re clear to leave.” Essek noticed for the first time that he could hear Beauregard muttering curses as she struggled with her boots, and Jester was trying to pin her cape over her shoulders so she wouldn’t get stuck in it again.

“Excellent,” he said, reaching for one of the discarded maps of the Aeor crash site for a few quick final calculations to Teleport them there. In true Mighty Nein fashion, the group had completely taken over the space in a matter of hours, evidence of their presence strewn about everywhere. But eventually, after much struggling with armor and heavy winter clothing, the group all gathered around and prepared to leave.

“Hey Essek, is it still gonna be like, super snowy and stormy when we get there?” Jester asked, eyes wide with anxiety.

“If de Rogna is responsible for this storm, then most likely the answer is yes,” Essek said apologetically.

“UUUUUUUUGH,” Jester wailed, pulling her hands over her face. “Fine, fine, whatever, let’s go.”

They all joined hands and Essek focused, concentrating on the spell and doing his best to picture their destination in his mind. As he finished the incantation, he was rewarded with the familiar feeling of being magically _slammed_ into inter-dimensional space for a few seconds before the spell finally took, landing them all once again in the middle of a snowstorm.

Wincing and groaning in pain, they all staggered for a moment in the bitter cold before getting their bearings. The wind was as loud as it had been yesterday, if not louder, but thankfully Caleb had taken the precaution of tying them all together _before_ their departure.

“Fucking _ow_ ,” Beauregard shouted as she stood upright, hair whipping around her face.

“My apologies,” he shouted back, eyes already stinging from the wind and ice. “As I’ve said before, the magic is volatile, and I have never been here before!” He’d been aiming for the crash site crater, but with the apparently perpetual storm reaching even this far over the island, it was difficult to tell if that was where they had actually arrived.

“Hold on,” Caduceus called out, “I think I see something!” He pointed westward and Essek, squinting, could just make out the large, jagged shape of what had to be part of the Aeor ruins. He let out a sigh of relief. They were in the right place after all.

“Let’s get moving, please,” Caleb yelled, practically pulling them all towards it. As they stumbled forward, the ruins came more clearly into view, and Essek saw that they were significantly more expansive than he’d thought at first glance, approximately the size of several crumbling, decrepit buildings that offered some semblance of shelter from the storm as they all made their way inside of what was perhaps at one point a temple of some kind. Caleb carefully untied them all and the clerics began weaving their way through the group, healing a bit of the damage from the Teleport going briefly wrong.

Beauregard sighed heavily. “Alright,” she began, running a hand through her hair, “de Rogna’s gotta be underground in like, the main secret ruins area, right? So if we can find a door or something somewhere—”

“Way ahead of you,” Veth shrieked from about twenty feet away where she was desecrating the altar, pulling up on what was a trapdoor of some kind that led further down.

Beauregard shrugged. “Okay, that works. Damn, let me finish next time?”

“Never,” Veth declared as she started making her way downwards.

“Hey, wait a second,” Caduceus said, the voice echoing around the stony room. “Let me finish up a quick Prayer first for everyone before we get ourselves into anything.”

There was much discontented muttering from down below as Veth stomped her way back up, but she reappeared and they all waited for several minutes while Caduceus began the spell. Caleb took the time to give a few people Fortune’s Favor, and Veth prepared several crossbow bolts that he gathered to be explosive. Essek was grateful for the breather, truth be told. The cold was already weighing on him again, making his joints ache even as he sat down on one of the old, rotting pews. When the Prayer of Healing finally finished, it took him a few moments to get to his feet even as the others jumped up eagerly.

“Okay, we’re good?” Beauregard asked, surveying everyone. “Any other last minute spells or anything like that before we head down?”

No one spoke, but there was an air of gravity and nerves as they all looked about one another for confirmation. This was it, this was their last chance to turn back. No one did.

“Cool,” Beauregard continued. “Then let’s go.”

The downward stairs were old, made of smooth stone and probably meant to lead to what used to be a basement. Instead, they opened up into a massive frozen-over crater of spiraling ice and rock, ledges and passageways doubtless leading to other sections of ruins up above the surface. Whole sections of what used to be Aeor were still intact, scattered and fallen and some balanced rather precariously on top of others. It was awe-inducing, and he would have appreciated its beauty much more if the sheer size didn’t mean they had a long way to go before finding de Rogna.

“Oh, shit,” Fjord groaned, verbalizing his thoughts, “how the hell are we going to find here in _here?”_ The question bounced off of the cavern walls, reverberating and distorting as the sound echoed through the ancient city.

“One of Meck’s people is with her, remember? If we can Locate the stuff they have, we can find her,” Jester said.

“Was that the plan? Sorry, I wasn’t really listening,” Fjord said, more quietly this time.

“Alright, whatever, let’s just go,” Beauregard hissed. “You two can handle the spells?” She asked Caduceus and Jester.

They both nodded and Jester gripped her holy symbol, muttering a little to herself. “Okay,” she whispered, “they’re staying still, but they’re further down. Let’s go!”

It was tricky work, everyone making their way deeper into the crater. The tunnel they’d walked down opened up onto a ledge, but it took more time than any of them would have liked to make some significant progress. Still, Essek was thankful that none of them fell, and that no one set off an avalanche, which was not an unlikely scenario. By the time they reached one of the larger, lower ridges, Jester had to cast the spell a second time.

“Jester,” Caleb breathed as the last of them jumped down onto the ridge, “how much further?”

“Um, well, we’re pretty fucking close, I’m pretty sure,” she muttered, holding her symbol up in the air like a compass, pacing back and forth for several moments. “Okay, I think we need to go further into these buildings this way,” she said at last, pointing downwards to the right where another large portion of the city was wedged into the rock face maybe fifty feet below them.

Essek sighed. Getting down that far was going to be a difficult endeavor. He was half-tempted to just float down there himself, but it was difficult to say what horrors might lurk beyond those walls, and he didn’t want to leave the rest of them behind to fall victim to something far deadlier. Also, no one wanted to waste or use any spells that they didn’t strictly have to. De Rogna was dangerous, and they needed to be at full strength.

So, steeling themselves, they all carefully began picking their way down the cliff face. Once, Fjord almost fell and had to be grabbed onto by Jester and Caduceus, and Beauregard’s rope almost slipped out from under her, but they made it.

“Okay,” Jester breathed when they were all down, dusting her hands on her skirts, “so, here’s the thing: I can give us all Pass Without a Trace, but I won’t be able to keep Locating the stone that the spy person is holding.”

“I can look for it,” Caduceus offered, speaking in a lower, softer rumble than usual. “We need to be stealthy going forward here.”

“Agreed,” Caleb whispered.

With that, Jester dropped her first spell and grabbed her symbol again. The shadows cast on the already dim cliff side warped and distorted around them, forming almost a shimmering barrier of sorts to guard them from sight. They all carefully followed the second ridge down towards the crumbling ruin, most of them not even daring to breath as they crept forward.

As they walked, Caleb fell in step alongside him and pressed a familiar stone into his hand, discretely. Essek silently slipped the Amulet back into his pocket with an understanding nod and a slight, hopefully reassuring smile. Caleb exhaled sharply through his nose but smiled back, lacing their fingers together again as they continued on down the path.

The ridge got narrower and steeper, and they were forced into a line as they continued the final few feet towards the section of ruins. The occasional rock or sprinkle of dust fell from a misplaced boot, but Jester’s spell kept them all silent and obscured.

Entering the ruins themselves, Essek could see that it was the remnants of some sort of relatively sophisticated laboratory in the midst of being excavated, and gathered this area to be a research facility of some kind, but it was far too old and crumbling for him to discern the nature of what had been studied here. Still, the part of his brain that itched for any sort of knowledge longed to call the search off and spend an entire day here, studying these bookshelves and vials and learning all that he could.

He glanced over at Caleb and could see the same temptation written plain upon his face as his eyes wandered over the notebooks and chalkboards that lined the walls, words written in an unfamiliar script that seemed to tickle the edges of being understood, like the sentences themselves were daring Essek to come decipher them. Perhaps when all of this was over, they could come back and see just what this place had to offer, but for now they needed to complete the task at hand.

Somewhat reluctantly, Essek continued forward with the rest of the Mighty Nein. Caduceus held up a hand as they turned down a winding stone hallway lined with doors that doubtless led to other rooms full to the brim with forgotten information, bringing them all to a halt.

“They’re right around the corner,” he breathed. His eyes flashed for a quick moment and he scanned the area around them, but apparently saw nothing. “We need to be careful.”

Ever so slowly, they peered around the corner. The hallway continued for a short while and ended abruptly before a slightly ajar door, but that wasn’t the shocking thing. The sight that made Essek’s breath catch in his throat was the scattering of dead bodies that lined the small corridor. Veth reflexively started to scream and Beauregard quickly clamped a hand down over her mouth as they all stared for a moment.

Essek was familiar with death, of course. He’d seen plenty people wither and die in the Dungeon of Penance, occasionally by his own hand. A brief scan over the bodies told him that they were recent, and that they hadn’t had particularly joyous final moments. Most were covered in claw and teeth marks, but as they all warily stepped closer, Essek could see the surviving limbs of some were laced with dark blue veins.

He paused, and quickly flagged over Beauregard, who frowned at him as she approached. “Frigid Woe,” Essek breathed, indicating the frozen hand of the human who had met their tragic end down here.

Beauregard’s eyes widened and she let out a low, but quiet, whistle, crouching down to examine the body closer. “They must have gotten infected somehow,” she muttered, lifting the limp hand in her own, careful to double-wrap her gloves with the corner of her robe before touching it. “Yeah, we _really_ need to be careful.”

“Here’s our creature,” Caduceus whispered from the front of the group. He was pointing down at what used to be a dragonborn, whose scales were also laced with the familiar blue color. Mouth set in a hard line, he reached down and tapped the body, Decomposing it so that, if nothing else, they would not fall victim to the already encroaching ice. Then, his ears twitched back towards the door at the end of the hall. “Hear that?” He asked.

Still treading as lightly as possible, everyone closed the final few feet that lay between them and the slightly open door. From beyond it, Essek could hear shuffling sounds, like someone was searching for something rather frantically. He was near the back of the group, but peering between them all, he could just make out a humanoid shape turning over chests and muttering to herself as she wove past a hulking, but stationary, figure.

The figure stopped abruptly, facing away from them, and the door swung open as she gave a quick jerk of her head. They all froze, thankfully figuratively, as what was left of the blue-veined, frostbitten, shivering figure turned around to face them.

“Well then,” Vess de Rogna hissed slowly, her mouth twisted in a sick grin. “Mighty Nein, welcome to Aeor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rolling for Teleport again gave me a 1 (no joke, I screenshotted my dice app to prove it) and a 78, which is still a lot better than things could have gone, all things considered.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact, I actually rolled for Teleport and got a 94, which is incredibly fucking lucky if you ask me.


End file.
